Chinese bike share firm goes bust after losing 90% of bikes

A Chinese bike-sharing company has gone out of business after 90% of its bikes went missing in the first five months.

Chongqing-based Wukong Bikes said the bulk of its 1,200 two-wheelers were lost or stolen.

Unlike rivals, the firm did not put GPS systems on its bikes and by the time it realised the technology was necessary, money had run out.

It is believed to be the first bankruptcy of China’s booming bike-sharing industry.

A free ride

Billed as “Uber for bikes”, China’s tech giants have been funding sophisticated bike hire businesses as a potential solution to congested roads.

Tencent-backed Mobike and Ofo, supported by Alibaba and Xiaomi, are dominating the market.

But Wukong was a much smaller player, aimed mainly at students in the city.

Founder Lei Houyi told local media that as well as the lack of GPS, his firm had struggled because its bikes were of inferior quality to those used by its larger competitors and were damaged too easily.

He added that while users were initially charged, Wukong resorted to giving away bicycles rides for free to try and compete with other players.